White Cats Deafness Blue Eyes
While there is a clear correlation between the blue eye color and deafness in white cats why is this so.
White cats deafness blue eyes. 40 percent of cats with one blue eye are deaf and up to 85 percent of all white cats with two blue eyes have deafness. Unlike other white cats blue-eyed white cats have slightly different genetics. Cats with just one deaf ear may appear perfectly normal and their.
40 percent of white cats with one blue eye were deaf. When the white spot gene affects both eyes the cat will have blue eyes. The uphill road to solving polygenic disorders The pure white cat with luminous blue eyes is an attrac-tive image familiar to many.
Interestingly if a white cat with one blue eye is deaf in only one ear that ear will invariably be on the same side of the head as the blue eye. An estimated 40 percent of white cats with blue eyes are deaf which is high. Deafness is caused by an absence of a cell layer in the inner ear that originates from the same stem cells as well.
However the prevalence of white cats does vary in different geographies. Many people wonder if deafness in cats with blue eyes or in white cats is an old wives tale or a fact. All-white cats born with one blue eye experience congenital deafness in 40 of kittens while kittens born with two blue eyes have an 85 chance of being born deaf.
Its even more of a concern in white cats when they have one or both irises that are blue. Their eye color is mainly due to a cellular issue. Not all of these cats are deaf see part 2 of this short article.
A cat with blue eyes in cats will not have a dark coat any more than a cat with light eyes will have a dark coat. As you may expect hereditary deafness in white cats is a real issue and presents a major concern in white cats and even more is if one or both irises are blue in color. People ask why white cats with blue eyes are deaf.